It's time Tennessee legislators did the right thing about tuition at public colleges and universities for the children of illegal immigrant parents who brought them to this country.
A bill in the General Assembly asks only that such students who spent at least three years in a Tennessee high school immediately before graduation or graduated from a state high school, obtained a GED in the state or completed high school in a Tennessee home school program be allowed to pay in-state tuition at state colleges and universities.
That's it.
It does not grant them free tuition, reduced in-state tuition or treat them any differently from your next-door neighbor's children, who also have lived in the state most of their lives and also graduated from high school here. Indeed, if it did, if it gave them elevated status, we would be the first to oppose it.
The bill passed the House Education Administration and Planning Subcommittee on a voice vote Tuesday. As of Wednesday, it hadn't been scheduled on the House Education Committee, and the Senate had yet to hold meetings on the measure.
No matter what we think about the proliferation of illegal immigrants into the country - and we're certainly appreciative of the Trump administration's effort to stem that tide - the children in question are already here. They pump gas next to you at the quickie mart, they're in front of you in line at the movies and their church meets in the afternoon where yours does on Sunday morning.
They're here, and the administration has no immediate plans to deport them. Its priority, as spokespersons have said repeatedly, is to deport illegal immigrants who have committed serious crimes (besides the crime of coming into the country illegally).
So why not treat them like other longstanding Tennessee residents? After all, it was not their fault they were brought to the country.
Even if the legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, and state Rep. Mark White, R-Memphis, passes this session, consider this:
» The students still have to qualify to enroll at the school of their choice. At the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, according to statistics compiled by College Simply, students would need an SAT score of 1120-1310, an ACT score of 24-30 and a grade-point-average of 3.85 to have about a 66 percent chance of being accepted for enrollment.
» The students, and/or their parents, still have to pay for their education. At the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, according to information compiled by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, in-state tuition for a year is $12,970. Room and board, books and supplies, and other expenses bring the total to $29,266.
Those numbers are hard enough to swallow for those who have saved for college since their child was born, much less illegal immigrant parents who are likely to be shut out of most high-paying jobs.
Out-of-state tuition at UT would be an additional $18,000-plus.
The bill's summary doesn't indicate how many students would likely enroll because of the legislation, but its fiscal note indicates state revenue would be increased an estimated $1,479,800 from enrollment at University of Tennessee system schools during the 2018-2019 school year if the bill passes, $1,334,500 from enrollment at locally governed institutions and $267,400 from enrollment in the state community college system.
The only "no" vote from the subcommittee Tuesday came from state Rep. Dawn White, R-Murfreesboro, who said she opposed tax dollars "going to provide subsidies for those who are illegal in our country."
The irony about those "subsidies" is that, without the tuition breaks, the amount of revenue the state would receive from out-of-state tuition paid by the few illegal immigrant students would be minimal. But if the bill passes, state revenue would be greatly increased by the larger number of undocumented students paying in-state tuition.
The way we see it, if they are here and were brought here as children, if they qualify to attend a public school or university, if they can pay the steep freight at the higher education institution in question, why shouldn't the students get the in-state tuition rate?
For many families, the additional cost of out-of-state tuition would slam the door on college, would increase the chances of the child working only minimum-wage or cash-only jobs, and would decrease the opportunities for the child to add to the state's economy by paying sales tax for the items they're able to buy.
Why would we deny those pluses for the state?